Commitment to High Quality and Reliability

In the manufacture of medical equipment which affects human life, we allow no compromise.
All products have guaranteed safety and quality after passing the strictest inspections.

Manufacturing in Japan

Nihon Kohden's major products are manufactured at its main factory, the Tomioka Production Center in Tomioka, Japan. The open design of the factory incorporates the latest production technology for the manufacture of printed circuit boards and medical equipment assembly.

Electrodes and sensors are manufactured at our factory in Kawamoto, Japan. Nihon Kohden's wide range of disposable electrodes are designed to be gentle on the patient and support accurate monitoring. To implement an efficient and superior system of production, Nihon Kohden builds its own automated manufacturing machines.

Production Process

1. Incoming Inspection

All electrical components and mechanical parts are inspected in this process. Each piece has a bar coded slip so the inspectors can find the details on the computer by checking the bar code.
All data such as provider, delivered date, inspection date, name of Inspector, inspection tools, and inspection result are stored on the computer so it can be traced even after shipment.

2. PCB Mounting

The quality of PCB (printed circuit board) mounting determines the quality of the entire medical instrument. Because most of the electronic components are mounted on a PCB, Nihon Kohden does this mounting process in house to achieve the highest quality.
One board has an average of 300 to 500 mounted components. These components must be placed at precise positions on the board and soldered to the board at 1000 to 3000 points. All these processes are carried out by accurate mounting machines.

Our manufacturing team has various technologies to maintain high quality. They keep the components in a perfect condition. They know how to control the mounting machines to place the components at the precise position. The size of the smallest component is 0.6 x 0.3 mm. They can place them 0.2 mm apart.

They control the temperature in the soldering furnace for secure and durable soldering. These technologies allow Nihon Kohden to produce small portable products as well as larger sophisticated products.

The soldering condition of all points is checked with an inspection machine or by visual check. The characteristics of the components and electrical connections are checked by a special machine. Finally, the full function of the PC board is checked with various testing tools.

5 production lines turn out high quality printed circuit boards

Inspecting solder quality on a 3D imaging system

Some special components need to be soldered by hand using a soldering iron. Authorized staff train workers about soldering. Only workers who have passed a test are allowed to do soldering.

Accurate machines, experience, knowledge, training and skill, as well as proper storage of components is responsible for the high quality of Nihon Kohden products.

3. Assembling

The complete medical instrument is assembled from the PC boards and mechanical parts at the assembly line.

This process employs a cell production system. One worker assembles the entire instrument by his or her self. Parts and tools are set up around each worker so they do not need to walk around to look for necessary parts and tools.

This system works well for the manufacturing of a wide variety of products in small quantities. An automated conveyer belt system is effective for mass production but it has a high cost whenever the line is set up or reconfigured for other production. The cell production system is easy to reconfigure to meet flexible production requirements. Also, this system gives great motivation. The workers can feel both responsibility and satisfaction in making the complete instrument. Good quality products are produced in this way.

Parts are delivered in trays on racks. The trays are placed in the order of assembly. The only thing the workers need to do is take the parts in the order of the trays. They can find the necessary parts immediately. This saves time.

All information about the parts, tools used, and the worker is recorded on the computer. The complete history of each part of the instrument can be traced by the serial number on the instrument.

Finally, proper functioning of all assembled products is verified.

4. Final Inspection

All products receive final inspection before shipment. Qualities of all parts, especially safety characteristics, are strictly examined in this process.

Measured data are stored in the computer so it is traceable even after shipment.

The final inspection is performed by specified staff of the quality assurance department. This staff is never involved in the production such as PCB mounting or assembling. They are well trained in inspection and can achieve an impartial inspection to maintain the high quality of Nihon Kohden products.